
by Connie Oswald Stofko
When you visit Dan Murak’s gardens on the Snyder-CleveHill Garden View, you may think he’s got a green thumb and succeeds with every plant, all the time.
But starting in the front yard with the sick peach tree that he replaced last week, Murak is happy to tell you about the downs as well as the ups of his landscape.
You can visit his landscape this weekend on the Snyder-CleveHill Garden View, one of six garden walks to be held this weekend. See the details of all of this week’s garden walks at the end of this article. Don’t forget that Open Gardens take place this Thursday and Friday, too. Check out our Events page for even more gardening events.

When Dan and his wife Peggy moved in 30 years ago, the landscape had little more than yews. Now you can see lush beds in the front, back and even in narrow spaces along the driveway.
And things keep changing—sometimes for the better sometimes for the worse. After trying to nurse his sick peach tree back to health, he gave up. He was able to find a large specimen of a ‘Tricolor’ beech with variegated leaves and had it installed just last week. However, to make room for the new tree, some large hydrangeas had to be removed. Murak may replant them and replace stones around the bed.
By the way, that is not a mulch volcano around the beech tree. The tree was carefully installed; they dug down to the clay, but not into the clay. Since water doesn’t drain well from clay, digging into the clay could leave the roots of the tree waterlogged. Instead, they built up the area. And the soil doesn’t touch the tree trunk.



Garden walks Friday to Sunday, July 9 to 11
Lockport in Bloom
Lockport in Bloom will hold daytime tours from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Saturday & Sunday, July 10 & 11. Pick up maps at 623 Locust St., Lockport.
A twilight tour will be held from 7 to 10 p.m. Friday, July 9.
Buzz Around Hamburg Garden Walk & Fair
Buzz Around Hamburg Garden Walk & Fair will be held from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Saturday and Sunday, July 10 and 11.
Pick up maps at Memorial Park bandstand, Lake & Union Streets, Hamburg.
Town of Amherst Garden Walk
The Town of Amherst Garden Walk will be held from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Saturday, July 10.
Maps will be available a week before the event at local garden centers and on Facebook.
North Tonawanda Garden Walk
The North Tonawanda Garden Walk will be held from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. Saturday and Sunday, July 10 and 11.
Maps will be available at the Carnegie Art Center, 240 Goundry St., North Tonawanda.
Grand Island Garden Walk
Grand Island Garden Walk will be held from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Sunday, July 11.
Pick up maps at Town Commons Gazebo, Whitehaven and Baseline Roads, Grand Island.
You’ll find a variety of garden sizes and styles. Visit hosta collectors, cottage gardens, shade gardens, extensive perennial gardens, and one of Grand Island’s original farms with its pollinator meadow.
Snyder-CleveHill Garden View
Snyder-CleveHill Garden View will be held from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Sunday, July 11.
Pick up maps at Trillium’s Courtyard Florist, 2195 Kensington Ave., Amherst.
A donation of $2 is appreciated, but not required; tour is self-guided.
This 18th-annual tour includes 24 private gardens and carefully tended public spaces in the neighborhoods of Snyder and Cleveland Hill. Gardens of all shapes, types, and sizes are set against a backdrop of 1910 to 1950 architecture. Many garden styles and plant types are represented, as are water features and garden structures.
Linda, thank you so much for that correction! I have corrected it on our Events page.
The Town of Amherst Garden Walk is on both Saturday AND Sunday this year. There are a few gardens that aren’t open on Sunday but most are.